The Port Arthur city limits may soon be increasing if no agreement is reached between the city and its industries.

The Port Arthur City Council held its second required public hearing of possible annexation of industrial properties at a special meeting on Tuesday night at city hall. The first required public hearing was on Nov. 21.

The agenda read the purposed of the public hearing was to discuss and review plans for the proposal of annexation to enlarge the city’s territory.

Mayor Derrick Freeman said the matter is over Industrial District Agreements. He explained an IDA as a partnership between the city and major industries that are in the Extra Territorial Jurisdiction of the city. Unless and IDA is made, the city will receive no property taxes from the industries.

The city’s operating budget is $65 million a year and $30 million of that comes from IDAs.

“It’s a balancing act,” he said. “There are things they want and there are things the citizens of Port Arthur need. We’re going through our procedures. We’ve had some productive meetings and I hope we come to an agreement.”

The city is now in the process of annexation. The two parties are still negotiating, but they haven’t reached an agreement. Letters were sent out to those who would be impacted by the annexation.

The provision of services, such as infrastructure, fire and police, etc., would have to be supplied to the newly annexed areas.

Val Tizeno, city attorney, said city services must be in place by Dec. 30. Failure to do so may render the city without an agreement.

Those industries being considered are: BASF Total Petrochemicals and Refinery, BASF (old Sandoz), Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Chevron USA, Flint Hills Resources, Oxbow Calcining, Praxair (at the Motiva refinery), Premcor Refining Group (at the Valero refinery), Air Products & Chemicals (at the Valero refinery), Total Petrochemicals & Refining and Total Par GT Logistics and Golden Triangle Properties (at GT Omniport).

Ron Burton, director of planning, created a service plan for annexation that will also appear on the city’s website.

Immediate city services and services that can be provided two and a half years later must be provided.

Those immediate services are: police protection, fire protection, emergency medical services, water and wastewater facilities, solid waste collection, road and streets maintenance, parks, playground and swimming pools maintenance, any publicly owned facility, building or municipal service maintenance and other services.

Construction of any capital improvements to be completed within two and a half years: police and fire protection and solid waste collection, water and wastewater facilities, roads and streets, maintenance of parks, playgrounds, and swimming pools and any other publicly owned facility, building, or service.

Freeman said since he has joined the city council in 2011, the city has added jobs for Port Arthur citizens and procurements as a requirement to the contracts. He added that Port Arthur is the only city in Texas that has this requirement.

“We’ve met regularly with plant managers, officials, their lawyers and everything is on track,” he said. “I appreciate our industrial partners during these negotiations. I hope everything comes out well.”

Carol Hebert, manager, community and government affairs for BASF Total Petrochemicals, said negotiations are continuing and the company is hopeful they will have an agreement in place by the end of the year.

Barbara Phillips, public affairs manager for Valero Port Arthur Refinery, said it’s company policy not to make statements while negotiations are ongoing.